The dole pineapple machine was invented in 1961 by Norman D. Denny, who was then working for the Hawaii Pineapple Company. He invented the machine to meet the requirements of the canner's market, which was changing at that time because consumers were demanding more canned pineapple with less waste and better quality.
The hand-powered pineapple milling machine was invented around 1900 by Theophilo E. Davies. It was known in Hawaii as "Theo's pineapple chute" or "Theo's machine". By 1917, it was being superseded by electric motors.
In the late 1920s, a machine was developed in Hawaii called the Hawaiian Chop Steamer. In 1931, another hand-powered pineapple milling machine was developed by Louis and Josephine Soisson. It was approximately the same size as a Del Monte canner and had four cutting cylinders, but it was not successful because of its size. George P. Pierce, who was working for The Del Monte Fresh Fruit Company in the 1930s, had a hand-operated milling machine for pineapple in his office. By 1933, Pierce had a prototype unit that could be used at The Del Monte Fresh Fruit Company. On June 30, 1947, the dole pineapple machine was first used commercially at Del Monte in Hawaii.
In 1953, another hand-operated pineapple milling machine was developed by Paul Cailzaud and it appeared at The Dole Pineapple Company's plant on Oahu. It was able to process six pineapples per minute with a capacity of 200 pineapples per hour. The goal for this machine was for it to be used commercially in Hawaii and at the Dole plant in Wahiawa, Oahu in Hawaii. However, it was not successful and the next few years were spent attempting to improve this model. In 1956, Cailzaud joined up with Norman D. Denny and Victor K. Yuen for improvement of the machine. Denny had been working in the Canning Department at The Dole Pineapple Company since 1953, and was in charge of pineapples from 1957 to 1968. Yuen had also been working with The Dole company since 1953, where he was in charge of can maintenance and repair. As a team, they were able to increase production to 18 pineapples per minute using an improved design that could be controlled with a foot pedal. The original model of the machine had eight cutting cylinders and was able to process four pineapples per minute.
In 1959, Denny, Yuen and Cailzaud worked together on an improved version of the dole pineapple machine that would have eleven cutting cylinders. They called this model "Model No. 2." In 1961, this model was introduced to The Dole pineapple company's employees at their plant in Wahiawa, Hawaii. This machine was used for commercial production beginning in 1962.
In the fall of 1966, Denny and Yuen joined with Norman D. Denny, and electrical engineers, to work on a new machine design for the pineapple industry. The first commercial version of this model was completed in 1968. That same year, Yuen purchased the nickname "Thepineappleman" from Victor K. Yuen's son, Victor Jr. Yuen. Denny, Yuen, and Denny's son, Norman III, were working on a method to make the pineapple easier to peel, after the majority of pineapples sold had brown cores and black fibrous strings. They discovered that if they peeled the pineapple lengthwise instead of around the core in spirals like most other brands, they would be able to eliminate one-fourth of the material that was being discarded. This coreless pineapple became known as "Kona Gold.”
The Dole company purchased a source for the pineapples in 1969 and, as of 2008, it still operates that facility. In 1968, Denny designed a screen to remove the strings from the pineapple. The strings were used as cardboard packing material in the plant and could easily be removed with this screen design. The first machine using this screen was produced in 1969; the first shipped product using this screen was canned at Dole's Wahiawa Plant on February 16, 1970. By 1978, the machine was in full commercial use. In December 1969, Denny and Yuen received patent number 3,475,945 for their invention of the "Peeler and String Removing Machine."
In 1970 D. Denny formed a company called Food Processing Machinery Company with Norman III, Walter S. Nitta and M. Clark Kuebler Jr., to manufacture the pineapple machines under license from Dole. Since then, the company has produced many other machines for the fresh produce industry including citrus squeezers, blenders and food mills.
Denny is also known as "The Pineappleman" because he has been in charge of pineapple production and sales at The Dole Fresh Fruit Company since 1953. He has been honored by the Fresh Fruit Institute with a "Peeler of the Year Award" in 2001 and received the "Pineapple Pioneer Award" in 1989. He was inducted into their "Hall of Fame".
At a very young age, he could already be observed working on his father's pineapple machine as his mother would call him down from upstairs to help. After his job was finished, he would return upstairs to do homework or play with the family dog.
In other parts of the world, Denny is the creator of machines that have given fresh fruits and vegetables an edge in the fresh produce market. He has been credited with improving the quality of canned pineapple by inventing machines that could produce more fruit without having to peel more fruit. In addition, he has been credited with inventing "Kona Gold" canned pineapple rings.
Dole has over 100 patents that have been attributed to him, including the famous Kona Gold ringless canning process.
The Pineapple Industry Extension Service in Hawaii lists the following items that were invented by Norman Denny:
Several other businesses have also been named after him:
In 1967, a group of businessmen in Honolulu decided to start a second pineapple cannery at Wahiawa, Oahu. The group had already been processing Hawaiian pineapples with their own machines that were used in the Dole plant. The pineapple industry at the time was very competitive and profits were low. They decided to buy a machine designed by Norman Denny with the intention of putting it in their new cannery. Their timing was poor because they had just started to set up their business when Dole announced that it was closing its Wahiawa plant. By January 1969, the Dole Wahiawa Plant was closed and the pineapple company went out of business.
Norman Denny and Victor K. Yuen kept their machine in Hawaii at the Pineapple Caretaker's Home until Victor Jr. sold it to Dole in 1989. The can that was used for commercial production at the caretaker's home is on display in their "Hall of Fame" at their pineapple processing plant in Wahiawa, Oahu.
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